RSS 1.0Department of Anthropology (MU)
Theoretically driven and research oriented, the Department of Anthropology at MU aims to advance scientific, anthropologically informed knowledge, with a general emphasis on Human Adaptation, Ecology, and Evolution.
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Phosphorus drives the biogeographical distribution of sweet and bitter manioc
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2023)[EMBARGOED UNTIL 5/1/2024] Manioc (Manihot esculenta Crantz) or cassava comes in two varieties: bitter which is dangerous and sweet which is safe. Three basic questions about this tropical crop remain unanswered decades ... -
Righting tibial retroversion : a functional and ontogenetic analysis
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2023)Tibial retroversion, or the posterior angulation of the tibial plateau relative to the diaphysis, has been tentatively linked to several behaviors in anthropological literature. While a large body of work, dating as far ... -
Micaceous mindsets: chemical characterization of Pueblo IV utility wares at multiple sites along the Rio Grande
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2022)Micaceous utility wares are commonly found at Ancestral Pueblo villages along the Rio Grande and adjacent areas, yet they have received comparatively little attention relative to the well-studied glaze wares with which ... -
Social inequalities and mortality during the 1918 influenza pandemic on the island of Newfoundland
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2022)Pandemics are anthropogenic events, and an anthropological perspective can be advantageous for a comprehensive understanding of the impact of the 1918 influenza pandemic. Research on the 1918 influenza pandemic has shown ... -
The influence of climate and population structure on East Asian skeletal morphological variation
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2022)Objectives: Recent studies have shown that global variation in body proportions is more complex than previously thought as some traits formerly associated with climate adaptation are better explained by geographic proximity ... -
Assessing the impact of the 1918/1919 influenza pandemic in Missouri counties heavily involved in lead-zinc mining
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2022)Occupational concentrations within regions have the capability to influence infectious disease transmission as they shape the way humans interact within a community. The 1918 influenza pandemic is widely discussed as the ... -
Finding prehistoric roots of the two-spirit tradition in the North American Southwest
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2022)We demonstrate the antiquity of the Native American two-spirit tradition using mortuary data from the North American Southwest. A two-spirit person embodies a liminal combination of masculine and feminine spirits and ... -
The influence of ancestors: kinship and cooperation in Iban ancestor worship
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2021)This work explores, extends, and tests a novel evolutionary theory put forth and refined by Lyle Steadman, Craig Palmer, and Kathryn Coe. The approach is the descendant-leaving strategy theory, which outlines how ancestors ... -
Body size and shape in insular environments and applications of the island rule in biological anthropology
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2021)The discovery of small-bodied hominin fossils in 2004 on the island of Flores, Indonesia, unearthed a large debate within biological anthropology. This debate has exemplified that there are questions and research areas ... -
Genetic variation and health in rural Caribbean village
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2020)Bwa Mawego is a small-scale horticultural community (~500 people) on the island of Dominica that has been the site of a longitudinal health research project for more than 30 years. Cardiovascular diseases and metabolic ... -
Obsidian procurement in the Gallinas Mountains of west central New Mexico
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2020)The Gallinas Mountains of west central New Mexico are a relatively understudied area within the greater American Southwest. The area effectively lies within a transitionary zone between three classically defined culture ... -
Birth order and gender : differential parental investment in Medieval England and France in the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2020)This dissertation addresses the question: will parents invest differently in their children based on gender and birth order? Using parental investment theory and four major sets of outcome variables--child survival, parental ... -
Traditional postpartum care : alloparenting from an evolutionary perspective
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019)[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] This dissertation focuses on traditional postpartum care and its variation across different human populations using an evolutionary framework. Whereas ... -
Modeling social connectivity and the spread of the 1918-1919 flu through Inupiat and Yup'ik communities of western Alaska
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019)[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] The spread of infectious disease among human populations is heavily influenced by social relationships and interactions between humans. This project ... -
Computational linguistics using social media to understand immigrant sentiment in the United States
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019)[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] International migration is increasing throughout the world, including migration to the United States. This increase corresponds with a global rise in ... -
The high cost of living : death and social identity of Missouri's historic Columbia cemetery
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019)[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] The gravestones of Missouri's historic Columbia Cemetery demonstrate the changing social identity of the population of Columbia, Missouri. These stone ... -
Paleodemographic modeling in the lower Mississippi River Valley
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019)The three studies presented below address the relationships that exist between prehistoric population dynamics, settlement organization, climate, and subsistence in the central and lower Mississippi River valley and adjacent ... -
Detecting subtle variation in two cryptic primate families (tarsiidae & lorisidae) through morphology and genetics
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2018)Cryptic species look morphologically similar but in fact are several different species lumped together. This is problematic as it hinders conservation efforts and makes it challenging to infer the evolutionary history of ... -
Chemical compositional analysis of polychrome pottery in the northern Casas Grandes area (a.d. 1200-1450)
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2018)The northern area of the Casas Grandes Medio Period (A.D. 1200-1450) was not well known archaeologically. 76 Draw is on the border of the Casas Grandes and Salado (A.D. 1275-1450) regions and the nature of interaction and ... -
Childhood epidemics and the demographic landscape of the Aland Archipelago
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2018)Historically, the introduction of childhood diseases such as measles or smallpox resulted in the infection of nearly every susceptible individual in a community. While smallpox has long been considered the deadlier of the ...